Ok Taec-yeon (Hangul: 옥택연; Hanja: 玉澤演; born December 27, 1988),[1] known mononymously as Taecyeon, is a Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the main rapper of the South Korean boy group 2PM.

Taecyeon was born in Seoul, South Korea, but immigrated at the age of 10, with his parents and older sister Jihyen to Bedford, Massachusetts,[4] a small town situated in the Greater Boston Area. It was his sister Jihyen who persuaded him to participate in a JYP Entertainment audition, whose promotion she had noticed when surfing on the Internet. After his reluctant agreement to participate, both headed for New York City on his 17th birthday. A week later he was chosen for the final 35 and got the call to go to South Korea to go further in the competition. At first Taecyeon applied to become a model, but the judges suggested he try dancing and singing. Eventually he was named one of the dozen finalists (including his future bandmates Lee Junho and Hwang Chansung) to compete in the show Superstar Survival, but was the first contestant to leave the show.[5]

Taecyeon lived in Massachusetts for seven years, attending Bedford High School where he was a member of the Chess Club, Jazz Band, JV Soccer Team and National Honor Society, before returning to pursue his career in Korea. Taecyeon transferred to Young Dong High School in Seoul and then studied Business Administration at Dankook University and attended Korea University Graduate School of International Studies.[6]

In 2008 he took part in Mnet's Hot Blood Men[4] which follows the extreme training of 13 trainees in order to become a member of the boy band One Day. One Day spawned two boy bands, 2AM and 2PM, the latter of which Taecyeon became a member of. Six months after Hot Blood was aired on TV 2PM debuted with their first single "10 Points out of 10 Points" from their first EPHottest Time of the Day, but it wasn't until their second EP 2:00PM Time For Change that their success in the Korean music industry skyrocketed.[4]

Taecyeon was featured in Baek Ji-young's 2009 hit song "My Ear's Candy". Baek revealed that she asked Taecyeon to feature on the song after having listened to his rap on 2PM's single "10 Points out of 10 Points".[9]

In 2012, Taecyeon teamed up with his fellow Dankook University alumni students to produce a digital album titled Blue Bears with Taecyeon. The album was performed live at Dankook University for the matriculation ceremony. The title song “Wings” featured penned rap lyrics written by Taecyeon. The second song, a remake of Lee Gwangjo's “A Night Like Tonight" was also included in the performance, with an original rap written by Taecyeon himself.[10] The album went on sale in February 2012, with all proceeds donated back the University.[11]

Taecyeon released his first solo Japanese album Taecyeon Special: Winter Hitori in 2017.[12] As part of the solo project, he successfully held his first solo concert, 'Taecyeon (From 2PM) Premium Concert' at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in Japan on January 2 and 3.[13]

In July 2018, it was announced that Taecyeon had signed an exclusive contract with 51K, an agency founded by actor So Ji-sub, following the end of his contract with JYP Entertainment. His former agency reported that he will remain as a member of 2PM despite the move.[14]

In February 2013, it was announced that Taecyeon would form an on-screen couple with Taiwanese actress Emma Wu, in the Global Edition of the reality show We Got Married.[20] The same year, he made his film debut in romantic comedy Marriage Blue.[21] He composed two songs for the soundtrack of the film.[22]

In 2014, he starred in KBS' weekend drama Wonderful Days, playing a tough-fisted bodyguard.[23] The same year, he joined tvN's cooking variety show Three Meals a Day directed by Na PD.[24] He later rejoined for a second season in 2015.[25] Taecyeon was praised for his hardworking image and easygoing personality on the show.[26]

In 2015, Taecyeon was cast in KBS' political drama Assembly. He plays an aspiring police officer who studies at the library to pass his entrance exams by day and works as an official’s chauffeur by night.[27]

On December 9, 2010 a JYP Entertainment representative revealed that “Taecyeon would like to give up his American permanent residence visa and recently, on December 1, he received his official confirmation for his permanent residence cancellation.”[32]

Taecyeon had a physical examination for drafting but received a physical body status sufficient only for enlistment as public service personnel, due to his poor vision and a dislocated shoulder back in 2008. In 2012 and 2013 he underwent surgery to correct the disk as well as to remove pins in his upper arm from a serious break in 2013. He was cleared for active duty in December 2013 but delayed his enlistment due to busy workload.[33]

On June 20, 2018, the South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon recognized and praised Taecyeon's efforts to enlist in active duty during his congratulatory speech at the 15th Exemplary Military Servicemen Awards, where Taecyeon was hosting.[39]

On October 1, 2018, Taecyeon led the future combat system demonstration in the 70th Armed Forces Day Celebration. The demonstration introduced the Warrior Platform program, which includes new and improved combat gear and equipment. One of the event officials stated, “Corporal Ok Taecyeon gave up his American residency; he set a great example, as he received surgery for the discs in his back and accepted active duty despite the fact that he had previously approved for alternative service. He’s currently faithfully continuing his military duties. We actively recommended him to participate in the Armed Forces Day event as we believed it would be meaningful for him.”[40]

In February 2019, Ok received an early promotion as a Sergeant for his exceptional conduct while serving as a military instruction assistant at the 9th Armed Forces Division in Gyeonggi Province.[42]

Due to his superb records, exemplary character, and great performance, Ok was appointed as a 'Special Class Warrior' by his division commander, and was awarded as 'Model Soldier' by the Ministry of National Defense. He also earned the nickname "Captain Korea" from people online, because of his physique that mirrored the famous Marvel superhero, Captain America. The nickname has been used as headlines to describe the actor on many news portals and broadcasts. In one interview, Ok expressed the pressure of having the nickname, "It was a nickname that brought a lot of pressure but it also made me want to work that much harder. I’ll continue to work hard to fit that nickname."[43][44][45][46]

Taecyeon finished his military service on May 16, 2019 and is set to return to the entertainment industry immediately. [47]

In 2013, Taecyeon hosted a 30-minute press conference on ustream to introduce "Okcat", a green-colored cat character to the public. Previously, Okcat emoticons have been released on the chat application KakaoTalk. During the conference, Taecyeon told the history of his development of the character, and released his sketches to the public. The "Okcat" shop was opened on the same day, and featured a line of products with the image of the Okcat.[48][49]